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The cycling right across from Pondocherry , Tamil Nadu to Cochin in Kerala was a wonderful experience. Apart from one transfer we cycled all the way giving us an insight of the different cultures of the Tamil and Kerala people. From flat to awesome scenery of the Highlands and tea estates. We enjoyed the relaxing houseboat cruise on the Backwaters before our last kilometres to the other side on the next day.
The temple at Madurai. Our home Stay at Vanilla country. Visit to Auroville on our first day. Chettinadu village
Our leader put in a tremendous effort to make everybody happy. We would go with him again.
Exodus should upgrade the trip notes.
Having completed both this & the ‘Kerela & Tropical India’ trips the concept of a coast to coast ride has instant armchair appeal. However the reality of this trip is that the riding in the first few days is rather repetitive & flat & would benefit from a re-think of the route to take in more hills – perhaps commencing further South? Once in the hills the riding is excellent with a great variety of accommodation.
Staying in fantastic manor houses & homestays.
Good organisational skills but lacking the ability to always understand the desires of the group. Fluency of English adequate but the cause of some frustration in the group.
Prepare to be in the saddle for 7 hours per day - particularly in the first week. With the best will in the world there are not cold beers available after each ride. If it is a choice of this trip or Kerela & Tropical India I would book the latter first.
A well planned trip covering an interesting part of India. Good variety in the terrain, countryside and sights to see.
Food was excellent most of the time, especially the picnic and roadside lunches. Riding through the tea country was a delight. Arriving at Vanilla Country. Welcoming happy people everywhere, and no begging. Relaxing day spent doing not very much in Kumily. Chettinah was amazing, but arrived at dusk so could not see the designated house.
Our group leader was pleasant but not up to the job in hand and seemed unable to take charge on occasions, resulting in late arrivals and missed opportunities for previously planned sightseeing, and a lot of frustration. He appeared to have little training in coping with a group of travellers.
Read the trip notes before you go and select this trip carefully. Prepare for long days of 100 kms plus.
What a brilliant trip…..a must do. Cycling point to point, along back roads, seeing the most wonderful sights, through small villages, alongside ox carts, through tea and rubber plantations. Kids every where waving and calling hello. The accommodation was fabulous.
On the first day cycling through the back streets of Pondicherry, as people were beginning to go about their day, with children getting ready for school, we arrived at the beach with the fishermen mending their nets. We all had our pictures taken with our back wheels in the sea in preparation for the adventure to cycle across to the other coast.
Peter was brilliant, adaptable. The back up team were great special thanks to Abi and Franklin.
Book no.
At times I never thought I could cycle the distance. But I did it and saw some unique sights and met some wonderful people.
The most inspiring moments of my trip were seeming people go about their daily lives early morning in Pondicherry. Visiting a village school and cycling through the tea plantations.
I had fantastic group leaders. Peter who created the route was always thinking of ways to improve the experience and our local India guys have become good friends.
It is a cycling holiday that happens to be in India. Not a holiday in India with some cycling. Be prepared for early mornings.
Fantastic people, fantastic scenery and fantastic food. Guides were happy to adapt so that we could ride more and transfer less.The route ws great with plenty of chai and dosa stopsto keep the legs going.
Dropping down through the mountains to Vanilla County with mist over the rainforest and waterfalls everywhere. Simply magic - so much so I had to start singing!
Very flexible to the needs of the group, great knowledge of the country and culture.
A Brilliant holiday , well organised and with good accomodation. We stayed in two really amazing places and the rest of the accomodation was good. The holiday has a lot of riding and is low on bus transfers. We visited lots of temples, a tea factory and wild life park and all added to the experience.
The most amazing day was the ride through the tea plantations, the sun was shining , the women were out picking the tea and the whole area looked perfectley manicured. There were also some numerous undulations which made a great ride.
Peter the leader was absolutely great. Our trip was the second one run and he was continually tweeking and asking for feedback.
It Can be very hot for the April/May departure, a camelbak is usefiul to keep hydrated. If you feel you might be suffering from het exhaustion don't be afraid to use the airconditioned bus.Using hand gel before eating and for after loo stops wise. We had no serious stomach problems despite all the roadside snacks we sampled.Lots to photograph on the way so a camera that fits in the pocket is much more useful than a SLR ATM,s were a bit haphazard and sometimes it was necessary to try three before getting any money. Probably useful to have some hard currency just in case. In Kochi the palace and symague are closed Friday /Saturday so if you want to visit go Thursday, when you arrive.
Great route, but cycling in India for me is about pedalling between points of interest, rather than pedalling for its own sake – and this tended towards the latter. That said, this was the first time the trip had been run – and I did have a damned good time.
The Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur - for the astonishing buildings and unexpected sense of calm. And by way of almost complete contrast, the village temple festival on the road to Kumarakom, which was a riot of music and gold-caparisoned elephants. The Chettiar town of Karaikudi had a special atmosphere too.
Peter doesn't take sugar in his chai, which is almost unforgivable (!). He did plan a superb route though.
Don't worry about the distances - the terrain in Tamil Nadu is extremely flat, and apart from a couple of hilly days in the Ghats, the cycling is not as intimidating as the distances imply; The books on Chola bronzes in the museum at Thanjavur are poor quality, but you may be able to pick up a reasonably-priced copy of the excellent "The Sensuous and the Sacred" from one of the bookshops in Kochi instead. This covers much of the same material, but with much better photography; The gentle hike around the Periyar / Kumily National Park seemed to be much better value that the boat trips - we saw plenty of birdlife and monkeys whilst on foot that would not have been visible from the lake; Handmade soap is much cheaper to buy in Kumily than Kochi; If you have an early start for the flight home, there is a cafe on the roof of Kochi airport that serves a reasonable veg biryani and a very decent coffee (but no chai); Don't forget to pack your trunks - several of the hotels have excellent pools.
A fantastic trip taking in an array of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and terrain. As a first flavour of a cycling holiday it gave me an enjoyable experience of life in the saddle for a few days. The culinary and cultural stops also made for a memorable holiday.
Reaching the top of the 13k hill, struggling up hairpin bends whilst monkeys looked on leisurely chewing branches. Watching the sun go down over the tranquil back waters, then waking up on such a millpond with the fishermen quietly going about their business. Banana Jam!!!!!
Peter our leader was a good judge of character and tended to any needs, the back up support was also superb.
Make the booking :)
another great trip organised by Peter Bluck going through parts of south india hardly visited by tourists. Lots of variety in terms of scenery and accommodation.
Pedalling up to Periyar, not as big a climb as the one up to Ooty but still a challenge. Realising we had indeed pedalled from coast to coast.
Peter....great and never flustered.
It can be very very hot in the lowlands and I would aim for December/January departure for maximum comfort.look out for random speedbumps, I didn't see one as I was too busy looking at village life and had a spectacular fall. Luckily no major damage and my gashed/grazed arm healed remarkably quickly....I was paranoid about cleaning it and it didn't get infected, which I think is quite unusual for India!